Recently, a pithy little phrase has been front of mind for me:
"Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence."
In other words, just because you don't see or hear something happening, that doesn't mean it's not happening. I personally take comfort from this, given how little I've been promoting the Pan Mass Challenge this year compared to my blog and email frequency from previous years. (Facebook's "on this day" reminders are a constant poke in my guilt center, when I see all the posts from previous years coming back to me...)
So although it's readily provable that I've gotten much less active with my PMC promotion, you can rest assured that I am every bit as committed to this cause as I was when I started. Compared to previous years, my training mileage is somewhat down, while my weight has traveled in the opposite direction... Nonetheless, my resolve is intact and I'm doubling down on my weekend and lunch-ride mileage. I will be ready for the Big Ride on August 5th. I'm sure I won't set any PRs, but I'm equally sure that I'll be there at the Sturbridge Host Hotel and ready to ride -- along with more than 5,000 others. ;-)
The Punchline is this, though: I ride the PMC to raise money for cancer research and treatment. I do this by trying to convince you, my readers, that this is a cause worthy of your support and donation/sponsorship. This year, we have a $48M fund-raising goal to meet. This is how you can help:
Donating online, using your credit card:Click here, or go to https://profile.pmc.org/dm0192 Follow the instructions online.
Donating by check: Make your check payable to "PMC - Jimmy Fund". Send it to me at the below address and I will submit it: Doug McPherson 13 Marble Farm Road Maynard, MA 01754
When it's all said and done, this "whole PMC-thing" I've been doing for the last 14 years is really a very simple thing -- but that's simple as in "straightforward", not as in "easy". For me, this "PMC thing" is actually a bit stressful from time to time, and it requires a lot of time and effort. But that's all OK -- because it turns out that there are some things that are worthy of our effort. And for me, joining the fight against cancer has become just that. I hope that if you've read this far, you might also believe it's worthy of your donation and support. Please help us today.
Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Wheels Are Turning...
"Work is Hard. Distractions are plentiful. And time is short. " -- Adam Hochschild
Over the last 14 years I've noticed a trend. Each year around March when I get back on the bike:
I find that I am noticeably slower.
I find that all my biking clothes have mysteriously shrunk.
I start to wonder how on earth I'm going to beat myself back into enough of a shape to bike 100 miles -- let alone do it 2 days in a row.
Speaking only for me, this year's start has been more annoying than any previous, full of all manner of delays, distractions and my usual procrastinations. But now I am started -- and I can't stop -- because I have committed to the PMC mission. And after all, none of this is about me anyway.
The PMC mission is simple: ensure that the doctors, nurses and researchers at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have the necessary resources to continue their vital work and discover cures for all cancers. That's it. This year, however, they're up against an additional challenge: In 2017 the federal government budgeted an almost 20% reduction in funding to the National Institute of Health (NIH). The NIH is the agency that distributes most federal support for biomedical research in this country, so this will have a serious impact on Dana-Farber -- as well as just about any other biomedical research in the US. Cancer research and treatment have been advancing rapidly, but federal budget cuts like these against biomedical research threaten to send us backwards.
As you can see, this year more than ever I and all my fellow PMC riders have our work cut out for us -- and it is not about training for a bike ride. We now need to work harder than ever to offset these funding headwinds and ensure that Dana-Farber's doctors and researchers get the resources they need in the fight against cancer. But how?
"Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can." -- Arthur Ashe
All that said, our PMC 2017 is fully underway and you can clearly see that we need your help like never before. There are so many ways you can help us:
You can sponsor a PMC rider. The PMC's prime focus is raising money. 100% of every dollar you donate through a rider goes directly to Dana-Farber. You can donate online by clicking here.
You can become part of the PMC yourself. It's too late to register as a rider for 2017, but there is still time to register as a volunteer. The spirit of the PMC lives as much in our volunteers as it does in our riders, teams, partners and sponsors. By volunteering for the PMC, you can transform your energy, compassion, and encouragement into furthering cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Volunteer registration closes in July, so register soon,
You can share your story with me. If you have a story to tell, I want to hear it. Over the years I've ridden in memory of and in honor of a lot of people; family, friends, neighbors and people I'd never met in person. Every name, every story and every picture is a constant reminder and a passenger that I take on the ride with me.
You can share our our story with others. Tell your friends about the PMC. Help spread the word and ask them to support a rider, too!
Finally, before I end I have just one more quote -- ostensibly from John Wesley -- that I think sums up my call to action here:
"Do all the good you can, for all the people you can, in all the ways you can, as long as ever you can." -- John Wesley, et al
So thanks for reading. I should be posting more ride pics and stories over the next few weeks, And I hope to hear from you all soon.
On August 6th, 2016 I started off on my 13th Pan Mass Challenge ride. Here we are, 84 days later and I'm just now getting around to publishing my customary write-up of PMC weekend.
84 days. Man, I suck at this. Mea culpa.
Before we dig in, though, I have to stop and thank all my friends, family and coworkers who were so generous with their support this year. With your help we were able to exceed our overall 2016 fund-raising goal by $1M -- and this weekend we'll be presenting a check for $47M to the Jimmy Fund for cancer research and treatment. That is quite a feat and we have you to thank. So thank you.
Day Zero: Sleepover in Ludlow.
I did my usual 2-day route this year: Sturbridge to Bourne/MMA on Saturday, then Bourne to Provincetown on Sunday. Due to logistical issues (place to sleep) I didn't do my "Day 0" bike ride from home out to Sturbridge on Friday -- but I did sort-of have a "Day 0" start from our son's house in Ludlow.
Quick note: full-size version of any pictures/videos in this blog will pop up when you click on them..
Our little Friday night arts & crafts project...
This year, Sandy and I decided to drive out to Ludlow on Friday evening and spend the night at Ben's house. The plan was that we'd stop by the Sturbridge Host Hotel on the way out so I could take care of final registration/checkin in for the ride and then just leave my bike there overnight. That way I could just show up at the start on Saturday AM and meet my bike there. I also figured I'd be able to sleep a few minutes later on Saturday morning, since Ludlow's a lot closer to Sturbridge than Littleton.
The Friday afternoon registration and bike drop-off went smoothly and we had a nice Friday evening dinner with Ben & Sarah. We even all did a little "arts and crafts project" together before I called it a night.
Day 1: Saturday Aug 6th
My alarm went off at 3:30 AM and I was out the door by about 4:00. I stopped at the Cumberland Farms on the way for gas and some coffee before hopping on the Mass Pike. (Past experience has taught me that I shouldn't count on being able to get a coffee at at Sturbridge Host Hotel -- the line is just so darn long.) Anyway, just as I got back in the car, I realized I'd forgotten my Camelbak back in the fridge at Ben's house! Good thing that I was only 5 minutes away and hadn't gotten on the Pike yet. Unfortunately I ended up having to phone Sandy and wake her up from a sound sleep to let me in in the house... Camelbak in hand -- and one apology later -- I was back on the road to Sturbridge. Crisis averted.
The Sturbridge start was the usual human beehive -- a buzzing swarm of lycra, sleepy smiles and general excitement -- and groups of people snapping selfies at every turn.
The obligatory "PMC Pre-Start Selfie"
I had just enough time to grab a muffin and a banana before staking out a place in the 'mid pace' rider area. (As I predicted, the line for coffee was just too darn long.)
Breakfast area at the Sturbridge Host Hotel.
The starting ceremony went off like clockwork and I crossed the starting line onto Route 20 at 5:40 AM. The weather was just a little cloudy with a touch of overcast and morning clamminess in the air.
More than 2 months later, do you know what sticks out most in my mind about the start of that ride? It was that section of route 20 on the first few miles of the ride! That stretch of road had been recently resurfaced and painted. It was almost like that "new car smell" feeling -- and was an absolute pleasure to ride on. I know that's weird. But that's what sticks out in my mind...
A little side note: I commute to work by bike regularly and also like to take long rides on roads for fun. But man do I get tired of dodging all the trash, shrapnel, craters and animal corpses that accumulate on the edges of the road. So you may never understand what a thrill it was to be able ride so luxuriously on a clean, recently-paved stretch of road, enjoying the entire lane -- not shoved over to the far right, dodging ex-possums and broken glass. I don't expect anyone to understand. But more than 2 months later I still remember the feeling.
I am always amazed at the number of people I see on that stretch of road, cheering riders on from 5:30 AM until the last of 3000+ has passed them by. They're there in good weather and bad, and on a weekend morning when most others would be sleeping in. Until you ride the PMC, you'll just never know how cool it is to see that.
Whitinsville, Water Stop #1
I arrived at the parking lot in Whitinsville at 7:07 to change fluids and grab a Lara Bar. I didn't stop to take any pictures -- just took care of business and rolled back onto the road 12 minutes later.
I did, however, meet some new friends on the road near Mendon.
My Posse and Me
These guys seemed up for a picture, so I decided to stop and see if I could pull off a selfie as an homage to my favorite bovine photo-bomb, taken by fellow PMC-er Mike Mahler a few years ago. (Picture below)
The Original "Selfie with Cow" - by Mike Mahler
My new friends weren't really into conversation and once they realized I wasn't bringing any treats, they lost interest fast. So back on the bike an onward to Franklin.
Franklin, Water Stop #2
I rolled into the Jefferson Elementary School in Franklin at 8:26 AM: the 2nd water stop of the day.
Pano shot: Franklin Water Stop dismount area
Mechanical Support at the Franklin Stop!
The Franklin water stop is one of the busier stops - probably due to its location and size. I tend to hang out here a little longer than the other stops. It's also nice to ditch the shoes and socks and walk around on the grass for a few minutes while I'm grabbing a snack and topping off my Camelbak. [Pro tip: hit the porta-potty the last thing on the way out -- after you've put the shoes & socks back on.]
Happy volunteers at Franklin -- and a visitor
The volunteers are what makes the PMC possible. Without them, it'd be a godforsaken mess. So I go out of my way to thank them and make sure they get the 'props' they deserve. The young lady on the right who's photobombing with the volunteers above is Kelly Westbrook Moore. I wrote about Kelly earlier this year in July. My sister and I went to school with Kelly as kids. Kelly's dealing with colon cancer right now. So I wanted to make sure she (or at least her likeness) got as much of "the PMC experience" as I could offer. (She was a busy girl that weekend.)
Anyway...after idling for about 20 minutes in the grass at Franklin, I saddled up again and hit the road. . One of the highlights of this stretch of the PMC is Cherry Street in Wrentham. All of the people along Cherry Street really "do it up" for the PMC riders. As you ride down the street there's music all the way: steel drum bands, taiko drummers, pickup rock bands and bagpipers. There are signs and people everywhere. It's like an all-day parade and festival on their little street. Nothing like it.
Next stop was an early lunch in Dighton. Just about 5 miles prior to the lunch stop, we managed to get a little unattended equestrian participation on the ride. I didn't get to see it personally, but you can see it for yourself in this YouTube video captured by 4-year PMC volunteer Lou Basilicato:
I just hope the fellow didn't leave any road apples for the riders behind it..
Dighton-Rehoboth Regional High School: Lunch!
By 10:26 AM I arrived at D-R Regional High School. This is the "lunch stop". While 10:30 AM may seem like an early lunch to you, a little food & quick rest is a welcome thing when you've been riding for 5 hours.
Pano Shot of the "Dighton Dustbowl". Lunch!
Princess Aurora met some nice EMTs at the D-R stop...
Once we parked the bike, Princess A and I stretched out, met some fine young EMTs who were helping out some folks with some apparent hydration-related issues. You may remember Princess Aurora from last year's ride. She rides along with me for Madison Ward. Maddy is tough little princess who's fighting brain cancer.
It's really amazing to me that we can have so many cyclists out on a single weekend ride and have as few medical incidents as we do. We're so lucky to have support from fellows like these.
The main lunch tent was a bit of a zoo, per usual. But there is plenty of food and everyone is polite and keeps moving, so the most challenging thing is usually just to be able to find a place where you can sit down and eat your food. Since last year, I've discovered that hanging out underneath the tractor trailers is nice. (It gets you out of the sun and it's quiet.)
Princess Aurora, trying to decide between a PB+banana or chicken sandwich.
Once Miss A and I were fed and watered, we topped off the water bottles and were back on the road by 11;12 AM. Next stop: Lakeville. The stretch from D-R to Lakeville starts with a really nice stretch that leads to Berkley Bridge over the Taunton River, with some really nice views.
The video below is footage that I shot from my bike with my cell phone in one hand and trying to steer with the other. So... the video is a little shaky (sorry), and it's almost 3-1/2 minutes long. It's not riveting videography by any means -- but I wanted to include it here pretty much 'as-is' and not try to edit it down because 1) I really have no talent at all for video editing and 2) I wanted to capture that bit of road as it really is: about every 10 yards for at least a mile leading into the water stop, there is a big poster with a young cancer patient's face on it looking out at you.
13 years and this stretch of road gets to me every single time.
Lakeville Water Stop - Last stop before Mass Maritime!
Apponequet School Parking Lot: "The Great Asphalt Playa"
At 12:06 PM, I rolled into the "Great Asphalt Playa" that is the Apponequet School parking lot in Lakeville. Last year I dubbed it the Asphalt Playa, because by the time I arrive it's almost always high noon and hot -- PMC 2014 being the notable exception (I was pre-hypothermic that day).
There's simply just not a lot of shade there (it's a big wide-open parking lot) so don't let the trees in the picture above fool you. This is the stop where teams can meet up with their Pedal Partners and this is where I'd met up with Dan Field for a couple of years. I didn't have anyone to meet there this year, so 15 minutes later, after a brief stretch and change of fluids I was back on the road and on my way to Bourne.
From the Lakeville stop to Mass Maritime Academy, it's about a 25 mile ride. There's another water stop along the way in Wareham, but by the time you get there it's only about 10 miles more to Mass Maritime. I think I only stopped at Wareham on my first PMC ride. By the time I'm within 10 miles of Mass Maritime I'm usually so ready for a shower and a beer that I just blow right by the Wareham water stop. And I've noticed a lot of the other riders do precisely the same thing.
Hello Mass Maritime! (Where is everyone?)
At 1:30 PM I crossed the day one finish line at Mass Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay. I know it was 1:30 (just as I know all my other arrival and departure times) not because I took copious notes -- but because this year all the PMC riders were issued RFID-enabled tags for the bike. This meant that as long as you remembered ride across the sensor mats stretched across the entrances and exits at the stops, then your time and location were recorded and reported online. (I even received an email with all my times a week or 2 after the ride!)
Another cool feature of the rider tracking was the it was easy for people to track their friends and family online. This was really handy since it meant that I didn't need to remember to call or TXT Sandy when I was 10 miles out to let her know my ETA -- she could just check the web page on her phone. We figured that the web page would tell Sandy when I was close to Mass Maritime, then she and the crew could come greet me exactly when I rolled in! At least that was the plan.
The gang is (finally) all here: me and Team Awesome
So, at 1:30 I rolled across the finish, had my wrist band scanned and was handed a bottle of cold water. I looked around for Sandy. Kevin? Ben? Anyone? Nobody.
Apparently the web application was generating an ETA for me that was waaaay off -- like 2+ hours later. I figured that they were just hard at work, so I just headed off to park my bike and do the needful. Little did I know that after this new system registered that my bike crossed the sensors at the Mass Maritime arrival line, it immediately revised my ETA from "hours away" to "Arived!" As a consequence, while I was off parking my bike, Kevin saw the notification and went off to greet me at the finish (where I no longer was...) We probably walked past each other in the crowd.
At the bike paddock, I eventually found Sandy, Ben, Sarah and the rest of our "Team Awesome" volunteer crew. Once we'd more-or-less assembled we went to fetch Kevin at the starting line. We all had some laughs about my "accelerated ETA". But Sandy and I decided that next year we'd do it old-school and I'd TXT her when I was 10 miles out. Then I hurried off to shower off and get my massage.
"That face rings a bell.."
Kelly chillin' at MMA
Once I'd gotten through my massage it was about 3PM. We all ate well, had a couple of drinks and just sat around (Sandy always remembers to bring comfy lawn chairs), enjoying the music, the weather and the day. Eventually it was time to go so I walked them off to the shuttle and we said our goodbyes. They still had a long drive back home from Bourne. It was a great ending to a great first day.
Day 2: Sunday August 7th
While there was some threat of rain on Saturday, we managed to get through the entire day without any. And we dodged that bullet again on Sunday: the rain that threatened late in the day on Saturday held off until everyone was fast asleep. All that water was on the ground and out of the sky before 3AM on Sunday morning.
Caffeine crisis averted
I did my usual 3:30 wake-up on the good ship TSS Kennedy. By Before 4AM I was packed, off the ship and scouting for coffee and breakfast. I am consistently impressed with the job that the volunteers pull off at Mass Maritime: while I'm sleeping, they're out there in the dark cleaning up all the Saturday mess and getting ready for Sunday morning when a thousand-odd people just like me show up rubbing their eyes, looking for coffee and a sausage & egg biscuit. And just to add to the level of difficulty, this year they did all that in the middle of the night while it was raining.
So let me be perfectly clear about this: I have nothing but praise and awe for all the men and women who make the PMC happen -- and especially the crew at Mass Maritime -- but they're human. 2016 was the first time in 13 years I have witnessed a logistical slip-up that actually shook me to my core: no coffee. Well, truthfully there was plenty of coffee -- just no way to drink it.
At the early hour of 4M, there was already upwards of 50 gallons of fresh piping-hot Dunkin Donuts coffee ready to be enjoyed. However, coffee cups were conspicuously absent. None. Zip. Nunca. Worse, none of the volunteers on-hand seemed to have any idea where they were. They were as astounded as I was.
Now, I enjoy some good solid O. Henry irony as much as the next guy, but this was serious. The coffee was far too hot to just put your mouth under the spigot on the dispenser, so that was out. (Even I have limits.) I was standing at the food table trying to figure out how to fashion some sort of cup out of the foil wrapper from a sausage & egg biscuit... and then I saw it: a big pile of "Kellogg's Smart Start" cereal-in-a-cup. I grabbed one, peeled off the top and dumped the contents onto my plate. Then I made a bee-line for the Dunkin' dispensers with my Kellogg's improvised coffee cup in hand -- feeling like the smartest man on the planet. Crisis averted and BPA be damned.
Follow-up: The volunteers located the missing coffee cups and had them distributed by the time I went for my 2nd cup. In the interim, I had already been appointed "genius" by several fellow addicts who had also quickly adopted my Kellogg's hack. So I got that going for me.
On the road, over the bridge and along the canal
Once I was fed and watered, I located the luggage truck for the "Family Finish", tossed them my bag and headed off to get the bile on the road. By 5:15 I was across the Bourne Bridge and headed down to the canal bike path, which we'd follow all the way to Sandwich. About 100 yards before the left turn for the access road to the canal bike path, I noticed a cyclist having a little trouble fixing a flat tire in the dark. Now it's annoying when you get a flat first rattle out of the barrel on a ride, when you have to do the repair in the dark on a strange road, well that's just not cool. Not cool at all.
Saved by the F.O.G.
As luck would have it, I was riding with my F.O.G. headlight so I pulled over figuring that the least I could do is just give him some light to help him get going. Turns out that they guy was a first-year PMC rider. So as soon as I learned that, I wanted to make sure that I made every possible effort to get him back on the road as quick as I could and not have this sour his experience. As it turned out, he reallykinda needed a little more help. To his credit, he had a tube, one CO2 cartridge and a tiny little CO2 inflator attachment -- none of which he's ever used before. (N.B. 5:15 AM in the dark is really not the time to learn this sort of thing.) So I let him hold my bike and shine this light while I got his new tube & tire mounted. He promptly lost most of his CO2 getting the inflator attached to the cartridges, so we used my CO2 and inflator to inflate his tire. When it was done, I gave him one of my CO2 cartridges to carry along,just in case he should he get another flat today. (I always carry like 4 or 5 cartridges, 2 tubes and a patch kit.) I also recommend that he ditched his cheesy little inflator for a more substantial one like mine. All in all, about 15 minutes later we were all set and ready to hit the canal bike path. Ride salvaged!
"Fish on!"
The ride down the canal bike path at that time of day is just magic. It's quiet, except for a few cyclist conversations and the ratchety-whizzzing sound that bike freehubs make when coasting... The sun is just starting to come up to meet you as you ride east along the canal and you can see the tide currents going crazy in the canal and reflecting the morning light. And if you're lucky (like I was), you'll get to see one of the many fisherman casting into the canal reeling in a striper. If you look really closely at the picture on the left (click on it and it should expand to full-size, full-definition in your browser), you will see there is a fisherman there and he's reeling one in. For reels.
By the time we got to the end of the canal bike path, the sun was well on its way up. The panorama shot below is a little distorted, since it was taken at a slight bend in the path. You can see the riders approaching from the left (west) and the sun rising on the right. Like I said, the photo is a little distorted, but I like the view and I can almost hear the cyclists and smell the water when I look at it.
Sandwich to Barnstable, via Service Road
Yay! There were plenty of coffee cups at the Barnstable stop.
At the end of the canal bike trail, we then got into route 130 through Sandwich for a few miles and then onto my next favorite part of the Sunday ride: Service Road. Service Road runs parallel to Route 6 for several miles and will take you most of the way to Hyannis. It's a shaded, pleasant 2-lane route with lots and lots of "rollers" (a series of hills). Over 13 years, I've pretty much got the route memorized and have learned which hills to attack and which ones to just "save it" on. My best speeds for Sunday are on that stretch of road...
The ride only takes Service Road until it crosses route 149, then we switch over to route 6A into Barnstable.
A couple miles down the road on 6A in West Barnstable I started to hear a clanging bell in the distance. In a few minutes I rounded a curve and found the source: it was these spirited well-wishers...
In the video clip here to the right, you can hear the bell. The lobster lady was really into it and it was kinda infectious. So I stopped and took a picture with them -- although the lobster lady would not stand still long enough for me to get a decent picture...
Just had to get a selfie, along with my favorite photo-bomber, Kelly.
I waved farewell to the bell ringers and was at the water stop in Barnstable about 10 minutes later at 6:46 AM Grabbed some coffee and a banana, then topped off my water. After taking a couple of pictures, we were back on the road at 7:02 AM. Next stop Brewster.
At the Barnstable stop, Princess Aurora couldn't decide between bananas or fluffernutters...
From Barnstable to the Nickerson water stop in Brewster is about 20 miles. As far as Sunday morning bike rides go, it's pretty great. We're on router 6A for about the first third of the way, then veer onto Setucket Road (aka "Old Kings Highway", aka "Main Street") for the rest of the way to Nickerson State Park. Just about a mile before we get to the Nickerson State Park entrance, we pass by "Da Hedge" at Cape Cod Sea Camps...
I had to dismount and get some video of the CCSC kids at Da Hedge
Sorta like that bell ringer in West Barnstable, you can hear "da Hedge" long before you get there... It's a long hedge with a couple hundred CCSC summer camp kids yelling their brains out for the cyclists as we pass by...
...an impressive multi-photo-bomb from Kelly at Da Hedge
After hanging out at Da Hedge for some pics and helping the kids cheer, I hopped back on the bike and idled one more mile down the road to Nickerson State Park, rolling in at 8:02 AM: 2nd water stop of the day.
Kelly made some friends on the ice couch at Nickerson State park.
The Nickerson water stop is always crowded and busy. It may be because there's always a TV station remote there. (WBZ is a PMC partner). When people think they're going to be on TV or they spot a TV reporter they recognize, traffic flow goes right out the window. ;-) No biggie.
I managed to take care of business then loitered around soaking up the excitement for about 20 minutes, then back on the bike at 8:27.
The ride out from the Nickerson State Park stop puts us on the Cape Cod Rail Trail (CCRT) for a few miles. It's nice to be on a trail and away for cars for a while. And on top of that, the CCRT goes through some really beautiful wooded areas of the Cape.
After a few miles on the CCRT, we exit and head up through Orleans, with the route still keeping to the side roads west of -- but roughly parallel to -- Route 6. At this point, the Cape is getting narrower and narrrower. About midway to the Wellfleet water stop we cross over Route 6 and get then get back onto the CCRT for a few more miles, then swing off and over toward Ocean View drive, along the ocean-side part of the Cape in Wellfleet.
I have a personal stop I like to take on the stretch of road along the coast: it's White Crest Beach in Wellfleet.
White Crest Beach, Wellfleet
The entry to the beach is at the top of a long but scenic grind up Ocean View Drive in Wellfleet. I make it a point to stop here for a couple of minutes of quiet reflection and taking in the view. The view never disappoints, even on the years it was overcast and dreary. It's always beautiful
After leaving White Crest, the route soon gets to a set of exciting and shady "rollers" on Long Pond Road and I manage to pick up some mileage pretty fast. Then it's just a few more miles to the Wellfleet water stop.
Wellfleet Elementary School: Last Water Stop before P-Town.
At 9:52 AM I arrived at the Wellfleet Elementary School. I stopped for a quick Lara Bar, changed fluids took a couple of pictures and applied some sunscreen. We were back on the road 22 minutes later and headed to Truro and P-Town.
Miss A got a little carried away with the sunscreen...
Entering Provincetown -- but not finished yet!
I took this video just at the Provincetown town line. I was hoping to capture some comments from the riders on their way in, but I think people were a little winded. Literally. On that long stretch of open road, you're subject to some pretty strong winds, and more often than not it's a headwind. So most of the riders are trying to stay low and aero and just grind through it.
After a few more miles and one last hill or two at Race Point, I finally arrived at the Family Finish at 11:39. The Family Finish at P-Town is located practically underneath the famous Pilgrim Monument. (Which, by the way, I have climbed the stairs all the way to the top -- but it was years ago, and definitely not following an 80+ mile bike ride.)
Finish line photo-bomb!
Rider, heal thyself.
So my 13th big ride is done! Time for 800mg ibuprofen and a shower, some food and a beer. Or two.
So hongry.
I prefer the Family Finish to the "original" finish line at the
Provincetown Inn, it's not as claustrophobic -- there's a huge ball
field to relax in.
You must. It's not optional, people.
The Family Finish is getting more and more popular, and thankfully the beer garden gets a little more accommodating each year. A few years back when they finally managed to get permission from the town to have beer at the Family Finish, it was a pretty 'make do' affair -- basically a 50x50 foot paddock-looking affair with a couple of folding chairs. I don't think there was even any shade. The next year it got a little bigger with some extra chairs and some shade. Finally this year it was a pretty decent-sized tent-covered area on the big field with plenty of tables and chairs where you could sit, relax and chat.
Once I was showered, fed and watered, I had enough time to relax at the beer garden and then walk my bike and luggage down to the docks to catch the 1:30 "fast ferry" to Boston. Sandy was waiting for me at the wharf in Boston with open arms, and possibly the best parking spot you could have imagined. We got the bike in the Prius and we headed home. PMC weekend was over.
"This is the end, my friend."
Here endeth my recollections of my 13th PMC ride. Thanks to
the generous support of all my sponsors this year, I was able to raise a
grand total of $12,526.69-- more than 150% of my personal goal of
$8,000! This was far and away the most that I have ever been able to
raise for the Jimmy Fund in a single year and I am blown away by that.
I've said it
before several times, but I will say this again: To my sponsors, I cannot
thank you enough for being so generous this year. Every penny of the
money you donate is going directly to the Jimmy Fund for cancer research
and treatment. And every penny that you donate is needed, appreciated and
put to the best possible use at Dana-Farber.
Thanks to your help, Dana-Farber/Harvard
Cancer Center's research was critical to 37 of the 79 new cancer drugs
approved by the FDA over the last 5 years. And the Dana-Farber Cancer
Institute itself was responsible for well over half of those 37.
Why do we keep doing this? Because we're committed; PMC is a "culture of commitment".
I like the way that sounds -- and I like it because it's true. Everyone involved in the PMC -- riding or volunteering -- has chosen to commit to this project. Nobody chooses cancer.
This picture on the right is the list of names that I always pack with me on the PMC. I like that the sheet of paper is something physical I can pull out and touch. When I read the names, I remember where I was sitting when I wrote each one down. I do try to take care of the list, keeping it in a zip-loc bag. But it still manages to get a little more worn and wrinkled each year. Like me, So that's apropos, I guess. ;-)
So allow me to repeat: Nobody on that list chose to to get cancer. I choose to support and ride in the PMC in honor or memoriam and I will continue to do so for as long as I am physically able. I'm committed for them and for myself.
I will be riding my 14th PMC in 2017. So expect to hear from me again next year. As always, if you'd prefer not to get my PMC emails, just jot me a quick 'please stop' email and I'll promptly remove you from my email list.
"PMC is an opportunity. PMC is a challenge. PMC is community. PMC is a gift..."
It's been 2 weeks since PMC 2016 wrapped up and I just wanted to drop a note to all my friends and supporters to let you know that:
PMC 2016: 190 bike miles
The weekend (August 5 & 6) went like clockwork, a little hot on Saturday, but no biggie.
Princess Aurora and Kelly Westbrook Moore were spotted all over the place on PMC weekend. They get around.
Even though the ride is over, we don't close the books on this year's fundraising for another month -- and we have a ways to go to meet our $46M goal for 2016. You still have time to sponsor me, or any other rider, and help us help the doctors, nurses and researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. You can donate online here: https://www2.pmc.org/egifts/DM0192.
Now, this post isn't the "full ride write-up" that I usually do; it's just a brief note to say thanks and leave you with some interesting things until I get the full report written. One of the more interesting things I've received from PMC HQ for each of the last several years is a 'weekend stats' email. I'll include the detailed stats below, but I wanted to point out the thing that I find most interesting: of the 6,000 riders on the road for PMC weekend, almost exactly 50% of those people have been riding the PMC for at least the last 10 years. That kind of retention rate speaks volumes about how committed we are to funding a cure for cancer. The other thing I find interesting is that I'm "above average" when it comes to rider *age*. ;-)
PMC 2016 By The Numbers
How Many Riders ?
Riders Registered: 6,260
Riders off the line: 6,000
From Where?
Sturbridge Start: 52%
Wellesley Start: 48%
States represented by ridership: 39 + District of Columbia
Foreign Countries represented by ridership: 6
Ridership Retention Stats:
Alumni riders: 78%
1st-year riders: 22%
Average years riding PMC: 6 years
10 year riders: 2,533
20 year riders: 396
30 year riders: 46
Rider Age & Gender
Male riders: 68%
Female riders: 32%
Average rider age: 46
Riders over 65: 282
Riders under 30: 1,022
Number of horses: 1
That's it for stats. For the "more visual" of you, there's a wonderful slideshow of pictures from PMC weekend online that you can watch here. It's brief but very well-done: a charming distillation of an awful lot of pictures that captures the weekend well and has a nice musical accompaniment from One Republic, to boot.
If you have some time, you can also cruise through a *ton* of pictures from PMC weekend on the PMC website. You can browse the gallery online here. The pictures are grouped by day (Fri, Sat, Sun) as well as "Highlights" and pictures of our PMC 2016 "Living Proof" and some of the cycling teams that participated.
That's all for now. I'll be writing up my PMC 2016 trip report soon -- hopefully during Labor Day week while I'm on vacation.
Please meet Kelly Westbrook Moore. Kelly is currently going through chemotheraphy, following recent surgery for colon cancer. Kelly will be a new passenger with me on this year's PMC.
Kelly the teacher.
Kelly and ZuZu
I grew up with Kelly in Hallsville, TX, She's been a teacher for the last 32 years and married to Mark Moore for over 30 years. She and Mark have 3 beautiful daughters, Brook, Madison and Holly -- and a cute little Shitzu/Dachsund named ZuZu.
Although her last name is now Moore, I'll always think of her as Kelly Westbrook. Kelly was 2 years ahead of me in school and a classmate with my sister, Bonnie. I got to know Kelly mostly from our time together in High School Band.
Kelly's Senior pic from my yearbook.
The very first rock-n-roll band I ever played in practiced at Kelly's house. That's notable because nobody in her family was actually in our band -- her parents just let 4 kids come into their house and make noise... (That should be a "tell"that there's a generous streak that runs through Kelly's family...) My memory of the Westbrook kids is that they were all a very outgoing bunch, full of joie de vivre -- and Kelly is no exception.
Check out the medals!
I haven't seen Kelly in decades, but I can picture her clear as day. And I can't conjure up a single memory of Kelly where she's not laughing out loud about one thing or another. I went to an old yearbook to look for some pictures and found a few of my favorite "Kelly pics" that I'll just share here...
One of my favorite yearbook pictures of Kelly.
And while all that yearbook trolling was extremely entertaining for me, I have to confess that my new favorite picture of Kelly is the one below, which I found on her Facebook page.
I couldn't find the artist's name, but it's apparently one of Kelly's students. I never really knew what Kelly's super power was until now. But I'd also be surprised if that were her only super power.
So I am proud and honored to take Kelly -- a bona fide superhero -- along with my other passengers on this year's PMC.
Kelly, when you read this I hope that I haven't written anything here that embarrassed you. And I hope that maybe I even made you laugh a little-- just like I remember. That would make me happy. That'll be your another of your super powers.
This Saturday, June 18, was the perfect day for a ride, so Princess Aurora and I got on the bike and hit the road. By the time it was all said and done, we'd managed to get in a "Metric Century" ride (100km) for the day. We actually rode 65.6 miles, but who's counting.
I didn't get a GPS log of the ride, but I did create a route map so that interested folk like yourself could see it:
The Route (click to enlarge)
Miss A and I started off with our usual grind up Pinnacle Hill Road in Harvard at around the 6.5 mile mark. It's a steady 1-mile climb, with an annoying 4-way stop right around the mid-point. But the great thing about that grind is that soon after, there's a really thrilling downhill into Harvard town center. On this ride we managed to hit 49.1 mph on that descent with no wobbles, disconcerting clicks, cracks or TFOBs -- so that bode well for the rest of the ride.
Below is a picture of Princess, safely seated in the wayback on this ride.
I didn't put Miss A on her front perch for this ride (like she was on last year's PMC) because I couldn't find her safety belt. But she was a real trooper and didn't complain: she never even flinched on that high-speed downhill into Harvard. I usually close my eyes and scream.
The ride down from Harvard to Bolton, Lancaster and Clinton was a scenic and relaxing ride. There were an awful lot of cyclists out taking advantage of the gorgeous weather and I rode by more soccer games than I could count. The ride around Wachusett Reservoir was, as usual, just beautiful -- and there was just enough wind to keep the deerflies off my scent. (I don't think I saw any on this trip, now that I think of it.) I should try to stop and take more pictures, but I really don't like to stop...
Anyway, once we got to Northboro we stopped for about 20 minutes to visit with my in-laws Dick and Hazel Bemis -- then back on the road. We stopped a few miles later in downton Hudson for a soft pretzel, an ale and some ice water at Medusa Brewing Company, but didn't tarry too long. Medusa is my new favorite place to stop in Hudson now; the place is very chill, as the kids say. If you like great beer, interesting tattoos and reggae music, then this place is your trifecta.
We were soon back on the bike and on our way northward out of Hudson. We stopped once more in West Acton at True West Brewing Company, right on Route 111 near Central Street. I was planning on rehydrating with one of their Ruckus IPAs only to be informed they were out. So instead we opted for more water and a pint of Citra IPA from Jack's Abbey (an excellent brewery headquartered just down the road in Framingham.) Our electrolytes again restored, we got on the bike to finish the ride, headed home to Littleton.
At mile 62, only 3 miles from home, we had our first and only incident of the ride. We were tooling down Mill Street in Littleton at a pretty good clip (about 25 mph), grooving to "Signed, Sealed, Delivered" by Stevie Wonder. When Mill Street gets to Parlee Lumber, it takes a hard right and becomes Warren Street. It occurred to me (too late) that I needed to slow my roll in order to make that turn. I'm not sure if I braked a little too hard and momentarily locked my rear wheel, if I hit some sand -- or both. Either way, the rear wheel skidded out from under us and we went down: right in the big middle of the road. 15 years of riding a recumbent and that has never happened to me.
We were really lucky on 2 fronts: first and foremost, there was no traffic; Miss A and I were the only ones on the road. Secondly, I laid the bike down on the drive side (the side with the chain), so I was certain that I'd ruined the derailleur. Not so! I have a water bottle cage mounted on the side of my seat and it got crumpled, sacrificing itself and holding the bike up off the road just far enough that the derailleur never touched the asphalt. My right forearm and fingers gave up a little skin in the process, too. See:
My right forearm and the asphalt exchanged molecules...
Last but not least, we were also extremely lucky that Miss A was unscathed.
Princess Aurora -- Unscathed, but a little grimy from the ride
Below is a picture of Miss A, taken in our driveway at the end of the ride, about 2.5 miles from the Mill Road wipe-out. And as you can see, Princess Aurora is all smiles and none the worse for wear -- save for a couple of chain grease smudges.
We'd set out to cover a metric century loop and made it with no flats, no cramps and really just a minor boo-boo at the end. I'm relieved that Pinnacle Hill Road gets a little more bearable each time I do it, and my knees are feeling OK.
So that's a good sign.
So keeping with the positive vibe of this ride, Miss A and I would like to thank all of you excellent people who're supporting the PMC with your donations.
We're getting closer by the mile and cannot do this without your help. So thank you.
I just realized that I always seem to lead off my posts with a quote or an apology.
Sorry about that.
But seriously, I've been really remiss on fund- and awareness-raising for this year's PMC ride. For me, writing comes hard and procrastination is second-nature, so I'll just apologize for not being more communicative and get on with it. Sorry. Really.
Wheels are still turning, both figuratively and literally for this year's PMC... I've been on the bike every day back and forth to work, but only a few 40-mile rides so far this season. I'm anxious to get at 70-miler in this weekend and the weather looks promising. I'm so fortunate to live in a region where there are so many scenic places to bike -- and tons of routes that I can start by riding out my driveway.
Princess Aurora, my passenger on last year's PMC, happened to be here in my basement lair as I was typing this up, so I took a picture of us both.
Me and Miss A
"Miss A" rode along with me last year as a nod to another Princess, Madison Ward. Right now, Maddy is back for her 2nd trip to St. Judes in Memphis, TN getting another cycle of chemo. Last year, when I first posted about Maddy, she had just turned 5 and it was her first trip to St. Jude's.
I have watched this brave little girl from afar for almost 2 years now... watched her endure multiple cycles of chemo and radiation treatments. I've seen her lose her hair, grow it back, then lose it again. But I've never seen her quit. And you better believe that Maddy's family hasn't quit. So why would I? How could I not keep doing the PMC? And how could I leave Princess Aurora behind ? So I'll be riding with Miss A and for Maddy again this year.
Nicole Rasile McPherson is another person I was riding for on last year's PMC. Nicole is my cousin Dusty's wife and was diagnosed with stage 4 Hodgkins Lymphoma a little over 3 years ago. Here's a picture of Nicole and Dusty from 2014.
Dusty and Nicole
I opted to not post the picture of Dusty in the "chemo wig". You're welcome, Dusty.
I will be riding the PMC for Nicole again this year, but this time it will be in celebration! After multiple rounds of chemo/radiation and 2 stem cell transplants, she's finally got a clean bill of health: no signs of cancer! All clear!
So while I may have been slow on the blog posts this year (and the bike, too, for that matter), and while I may complain to Sandy about my knees, I will not stop. How could I?
Breakthroughs are being made every day, and treatments are getting more humane and effective. With your help, we'll beat this. It's not impossible. And that brings me to a closing quote from a great man.
Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing. -- Muhammad Ali
